Formal sector employment decreased by 28 000 in September 2019, with 11 000 full-time and 17 000 part-time jobs shed during the quarter. The September 2019 Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES) survey showed that an estimated 10 142 000 people were employed in the formal non-agricultural sector of the South African economy, which is down by 28 000 from 10 170 000 in the   read more »

After rebounding by a revised 3,2%1 in the second quarter of 2019, activity in the South African economy slipped slightly in the third quarter. Mining, manufacturing and transport were the biggest drags on growth in gross domestic product (GDP). Mining was down by 6,1%, driven largely by a fall in the production of platinum group   read more »

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) launched a new online data portal to enable tracking of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) on 2 December 2019 at ISIbalo House in Pretoria. As the country’s supplier of official statistics, Stats SA is continuously working towards finding new and inventive ways of making data accessible to stakeholders, government and   read more »

South Africa enjoys a positive tourism trade balance with the rest of the world. What this means is that non-resident visitors spend more money in our country than South African travellers spend abroad. However, the trade balance surplus has narrowed since 2016. In 2018, non-resident visitors1 (which includes both tourists and same-day visitors) spent a   read more »

Stats SA provides a snapshot of working capital across the formal business sector in the latest release of the Annual Financial Statistics (AFS) report. Working capital is a measure of a company’s liquidity and is one of a number of measures that provide insight into a company’s ability to pay off debt. To calculate working   read more »

The South African government spent 7,3% more in 2017/18 than it did in 2016/17. The rise was largely driven by general public services, education and health. This pushed total government spending up to R1,71 trillion1 in 2017/18, R116 billion more than the R1,59 trillion spent in 2016/17. This is according to the latest Financial statistics of consolidated general   read more »

Annual consumer inflation continued its downward streak, dropping to 3,7% in October from 4,1% in September. October’s reading is the lowest since February 2011 when the annual rate was also 3,7%. Consumers can breathe a sigh of relief at this news, as the prices of many goods and services are increasing at a much slower   read more »

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) recently concluded the Census 2021 Mini Test, which took place from 9 October to 6 November 2019 in selected areas around the country. The purpose of this mini test was to test data collection methods, questionnaire and operation systems to prepare for the population census that will be conducted in 2021. However,   read more »

Public-sector investment in the nation’s infrastructure slowed for a second consecutive year, falling by 8,2% in 2018. This followed a 4,0% decline in 2017. These decreases have seen public-sector capital expenditure slip to a level last seen in 2014. Capital expenditure is money that institutions spend to buy, maintain or upgrade fixed assets such as   read more »

South Africa’s 26 higher education institutions spent R40 billion on compensation of employees in the 2018 financial year. That represents 61% of total spending1, according to the latest Financial statistics of higher education institutions report. This includes line items such as salaries and wages, pension benefits, medical aid, and bonuses. Higher education spending has been in   read more »